The three suspects accused of the brutal murder of six-year-old Bontle Mashiyane made their first court appearance on Monday.
Bontle Mashiyane murder suspects remanded in custody
The remains of the toddler from Mganduzweni, Mpumalanga, were discovered in a bushy area not far from her home, last week. The little girl was last seen playing with friends on 30 April 2022.
A concerted effort between police and the community led to the arrest of two of Mashiyane’s neighbours and a third suspect who confessed to partaking in the six-year-old’s mutilation.
The suspects, Collen Hlongwane (36), Thapelo Ngomane (25) and Ntombi Mgwenya (40) were remanded in custody until their next court appearance, which was rescheduled to 24 June 2022, as reported by IOL News.
The trio is charged with kidnapping, human trafficking, murder and rape.
One of the suspects reveals how Bontle Mashiyane was murdered
One of the suspects, 25-year-old Ngomane, was interrogated by community members on the evening of his arrest. His face swollen from taking pummels, Ngomane maintained an ominous calm as he detailed recalled the trauma Mashiyane, and at least four other children suffered in the mutilation.
Much of what is heard in the below video is in Swati and Zulu, but, in a nutshell, Ngomane revealed they were contracted to deliver Mashiyane’s uterus and knee caps. Despite the pressure applied by the interrogators, the 25-year-old refused to reveal what happened to the six-year-old’s jaw and tongue.
The Neighbors are the ones who kidnapped that 6 years old girl #justicefornamhla pic.twitter.com/6qiD3Ub5QZ
— Nozi Mabunda (@Nozipho71767763) May 23, 2022
Mganduzweni community torches sangoma’s house
The other suspect in the murder, Hlongwane, was on his second parole at the time he was arrested in connection with the murder of Mashiyane, the Kabokweni Magistrate’s court heard on Monday.
The 36-year-old was convicted of 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder in 2008. He served five years of that sentence and was released on parole in 2013.
Three years later, Hlongwane was found guilty of the murder of a woman named Khonzi Ntsingwane. His 15-year conviction was cut short when in 2021, Hlongwane was, once again, released on parole.
Mpumalanga authorities believe the 36-year-old has been involved in at least four other child mutilations.
The suspects, it’s believed, kidnapped and mutilated children for body parts which were sold to a sangoma. The sangoma’s identity has yet to be made public.
However, from what we understand, she is known to community members who, on Monday, torched her home.
Angry community members have set alight the house of the sangoma that have killed the 6 year-old Bontle Mashiyane. pic.twitter.com/10u5sPj9r4
— Collen Sbu Gwebu (@CollenGwebu) May 23, 2022